"Unclean" IIFYM Success Stories and Pics please?

Of course per the usual people come in here assuming that IIFYM/flexible dieting means total disregard for nutrient density and an entire lack of whole foods. Fortunately most people who actually practice it, understand it.

The reality is that in practice, most flexible dieters who do it correctly, by limiting discretionary intake to a small portion of total calories, don't actually have a diet that differs much from a clean eater who happens to allow a few treats here and there.

That.


Also, when was your before, SS?

I started lifting in October 2010. The picture that was taken was about 4 weeks after I started lifting. It's pretty close to accurate. I weighed about 198 in the before pic, when I started lifting I was about 202lbs.

Well, you are rockstar, as you know

IIFYM, Weight lifting with little cardio, -1 pound per week for the first 50 pounds. 4 bulk/cut cycles since getting down to 160 over 1.5 years ago. Currently a little over 170 and cutting again.

Wow. The difference from 180 to 170 is huge! Those pics are inspiring.

Thank you. I think the reason for the drastic difference between 180 and 170 was I joined MFP when I was around 185lbs and started tracking macros. I also got rid of a lot of the nonsense meal timing I had been on and got on a better lifting program. All thanks to the tough love I got from the "mean people" on these message boards after regurgitating some nonsense gymlore I had "learned". :happy: After I got over the butthurt I started doing some research and tried to learn as much actual science based information as I could, I realized they were all correct.

I think I may have finally experienced some of the newbie gains some people get or at least gained back the muscle I had lost without tracking cals and macros. I had also lost most of the fat already around my face and neck so all that was left to lose was around my gut.

You guys are saying eating healthy is overrated and McDonalds is just fine? Flavored seaweed passed on as beef is just wonderful...
There is only one guy on this thread with ripped abs, rest of you are just average.
What u r saying is u loose weight if you just eat less of what you've been eating......medical awards all around lol

Your definition of healthy eating is probably different than others. After all, mental health is important.

Also, why on earth does someone need ripped abs to be a success.

Also, there are a load of people that are a damn site more ripped than you that practice IIFYM - you ain't that special yourself precious.

Also...lololol.

I had a question..would IIFYM still work for people who have diabetes, PCOS, Insulin resistance?
Just curious..i love learning!

Yes, but people with the above conditions may have additional carbohydrate restrictions.

In. Because Pizza and Ice Cream.

I realized that it was not my nutty buddy bars that was making me fat, but because I was eating 2 or 3 of them with a big glass of milk, along with eating a big bag of doritos, a big bottle of coke, a big bowl of frosted mini wheats, a whole pile of spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, a big glass of sweet tea, a pb&j sandwich with another glass of milk, and ALL on the same day. Is it any wonder why I gained weight? I learned that all I had to do was just eat less and get off my *kitten* every once in a while.

Also, for those that have had success with IIFYM, do you find that most of your calories did come from cleaner eating or did you just stick to pizza, burgers, and stuff but eat less of them?

I didn't really think in these terms...I thought in terms of having balance to my diet...hitting my requisite protein and fat goals and then rounding the rest out with carbs. I thought in terms of hitting my nutritional requirements and getting most of my nutrients from my diet rather than supplementation.

If you're eating a balanced diet and trying to meet your nutritional requirements with your food, you're going to find that nutrient dense foods are an essential component of your diet. IIFYM simply takes away the good food/bad food stigma of certain foods. If I'm rocking my nutrition, what does it matter if I have a slice of pizza? It doesn't. If my nutritional requirements have been fulfilled for the day, I don't get extra credit for more broccoli...so why not have a little ice cream?

The idea is really to stop with the foolish demonization of foods and the notion that in order to lose weight you have to suck on celery sticks and eat salads all of the time. Your macro ratios are going to be dependent on overall nutritional and fitness goals as well as any particular medical issues. IIFYM doesn't stand for eat anything you want, whenever you want...you still need to plan for a diet (noun) that is going to deliver the best performance and health results.

Also, for those that have had success with IIFYM, do you find that most of your calories did come from cleaner eating or did you just stick to pizza, burgers, and stuff but eat less of them?

I didn't really think in these terms...I thought in terms of having balance to my diet...hitting my requisite protein and fat goals and then rounding the rest out with carbs. I thought in terms of hitting my nutritional requirements and getting most of my nutrients from my diet rather than supplementation.

If you're eating a balanced diet and trying to meet your nutritional requirements with your food, you're going to find that nutrient dense foods are an essential component of your diet. IIFYM simply takes away the good food/bad food stigma of certain foods. If I'm rocking my nutrition, what does it matter if I have a slice of pizza? It doesn't. If my nutritional requirements have been fulfilled for the day, I don't get extra credit for more broccoli...so why not have a little ice cream?

The idea is really to stop with the foolish demonization of foods and the notion that in order to lose weight you have to suck on celery sticks and eat salads all of the time. Your macro ratios are going to be dependent on overall nutritional and fitness goals as well as any particular medical issues. IIFYM doesn't stand for eat anything you want, whenever you want...you still need to plan for a diet (noun) that is going to deliver the best performance and health results.

^^well said

Threads like this make me feel like an *kitten* for being a "clean" eater... you know, whatever that means.

Just eating "clean" does not an *kitten* make. Eating clean, bragging about it, and tell non-clean eaters they are unhealthy makes you an *kitten*.

Also know that "clean" doesn't really have a definition. If you say "I try to eat mostly whole, unprocessed, nutrient dense food. That's just what I prefer, and you are are welcome to eat however you'd like" then no one would ever think you were an *kitten*.

+1

When I discovered clean eating, I made it my religion for a while. Then, only doing clean eating backfired and I fell off the wagon for months, regaining a lot of the fat I'd dropped. Now I'm a IIFYM gal, but I respect people who eat clean 100%. It's just not for me, or I feel deprived. I still tend to consume mostly whole unprocessed foods, (I learned how to make my own pasta, for example!) but I don't think sugar is evil, or whatever I was on about when I believed it was The Only Way. Pfft.

I was mostly being sarcastic :P That's why I said "clean" because clean eating is very much defined by the individual. But I feel you guys. I have a serious sugar addiction and as soon as I have a hit (donut, cookies, ice cream, candy, etc) I have the hardest time getting back on track and it's often a downward spiral of binging from there. I don't totally deprive myself, I will eat out about once a month and enjoy a good meal. It's them sugary sweets that get me. For me personally, I find I do best when I keep to whole foods and no junky treats. Treats for me are making protein desserts and whatnot. As Dr. Sarah Solomon says, "cheat clean, stay lean" and that works for me. I do admit to srs jelly for those who can iifym regularly and with success.

How do you guys keep track of all the different dietary parameters? I find it hard enough to pick foods just watching caloric intake. I can't imagine trying to figure out different foods to hit all the other parameters, too. I don't even know how I would go about choosing foods to hit macros. It sounds like playing food Tetris. How far out in advance do you plan your menus?

The only parameters I make sure I hit are calorie intake (deficit, surplus or maintenance) and protein intake at 0.8g/lb. I don't really count anything else. Chances are if you're eating 100+ grams of protein a day, you will get all the fat and carbs you need with it.

Just don't do something silly like drinking 4 protein shakes a day to get the protein.

I want to play! I don't have my most recent pics, but here's the old one. I didn't have much to lose, but the before pics are 1200/day, 'clean' eating, After is 2200/day plus weights



More than my body, I can point to the athletic things I've accomplished. Races won and placed in, PRs smashed. Sorry not sorry for not being 'average'. :laugh:

How do you guys keep track of all the different dietary parameters? I find it hard enough to pick foods just watching caloric intake. I can't imagine trying to figure out different foods to hit all the other parameters, too. I don't even know how I would go about choosing foods to hit macros. It sounds like playing food Tetris. How far out in advance do you plan your menus?

The morning of usually. Depends really... it's not hard.

I needed this thread today. Hopefully one day I'll have pics of my own to add.

How do you guys keep track of all the different dietary parameters? I find it hard enough to pick foods just watching caloric intake. I can't imagine trying to figure out different foods to hit all the other parameters, too. I don't even know how I would go about choosing foods to hit macros. It sounds like playing food Tetris. How far out in advance do you plan your menus?

The only parameters I make sure I hit are calorie intake (deficit, surplus or maintenance) and protein intake at 0.8g/lb. I don't really count anything else. Chances are if you're eating 100+ grams of protein a day, you will get all the fat and carbs you need with it.
.

Pretty much. All I track I pay attention to is protein. If I eat one good serving of meat a day (a chicken breast) I usually hit it without trying.

IIFYM here........ and a type 2 diabetic....... 3 years of weight loss and 15 months in Maintenance..........